The Silver Meteor, whose name suggests luxury and speed, has a long and rich
history that goes back more than seven decades. It originally went into
service in 1939 under the Seaboard Airline
Railroad, which later merged
with the Atlantic
Coast Line Railroad in 1967 to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL). The SilverMeteor and Silver Star continued to operate under
Amtrak after it took over the nation’s intercity passenger rail services on May
1, 1971.

The streamlined E8A locomotive leading the train in this image was originally manufactured by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1949 and 1954. Inherited from the SCL, it wears the Amtrak Phase I livery introduced in 1972.